Bubble King RE-DC150

[samherston073]

So have a question.... My system has been set up 4 months now and love this skimmer but in the past month or so, its not been producing much at all... the air intake on the front of the pump is turned out 4 turns and seems the water surges up and down some... you can see where the air coming into the bottom and thru the holes and is like its missing out as its pushing the bubbles up... like every second there is a short break in it... anyone with ideas at all..??

 

[slief]

So have a question.... My system has been set up 4 months now and love this skimmer but in the past month or so, its not been producing much at all... the air intake on the front of the pump is turned out 4 turns and seems the water surges up and down some... you can see where the air coming into the bottom and thru the holes and is like its missing out as its pushing the bubbles up... like every second there is a short break in it... anyone with ideas at all..??

Sounds like you need to do some fine tuning adjust the nozzle some more. Before doing that, I would suggest removing the nozzle and checking the venturi port for salt creep. The pump doesn't know the difference between air and water when it's submerged. When it doesn't get enough air, it draws in more water. More water into the skimmer cause the water level to rise. While this ultimate will result in an overflow if the port gets too clogged up, it can result in surging as well. Take a look at this thread for the salt creep issue as that can contribute to what you are seeing.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2573406

Surging is a result of the skimmer pump not being fine tuned well enough or too much water going into the body faster than it can exit. After checking the venturi port and verifying that it's not plugged up at all, I would suggest opening up the nozzle a tiny bit at a time until the level in the skimmer no longer pulses. The ideal setting can range between 1.5 turns out all the way to 5.5 turns out. Every tank is different as things like sump depth, amount of dissolved organics in the water, salinity and surface tension all impact the "ideal setting" but once you find the sweet spot for your load, that skimmer will kick some butt. If the load changes, some additional fine tuning may be needed. Also, if your wedge pipe is closed too much, that can exacerbate the issue. I'd recommend closing the wedge pipe no more than 50%. If you have to close it more than 50% to get the level up high enough in the skimmer to produce skimmate then you should raise the sump level a bit.

The lack of skimmate is generally a sign of a lack of dissolved organics however fine tuning or a lack of can contribute to a lack of skimmate as well. Especially if the head isn't stable as a result of surging.